Self Portrait

Some words about this piece:

Four years in the making and its finally finished! I started this back in 2016. Its 160cm tall, 115cm wide, made with rotring, micron pens and gouache paint on 300gsm watercolour paper. The intention behind this picture was for it to serve as a reminder to myself that I am the creator of my own reality. The figure in the centre is me, I’m using drawing tools to create the world I inhabit. There will always be factors outside of our control, and we may be lucky enough to find people willing to help us, but in the end we are the only ones who can truly create a change within our own personal world, so long as we put in the effort.

The heads surrounding my own symbolise the people who influence me, the tower in the centre of my chest is falling, it represents factors outside of my control that I perceive as negative, (like the end of a positive phase in life). At the bottom of the picture is a group of people seated by a fire, they are surrounded by ruins of an old, dilapidated structure. This represents the idea that when one thing ends, it leaves space for another to begin.

There are lots of different things going on in this picture, If you’re interested, you can check out my facebook page or instagram (@MrCrystalface) to read more about the characters and stories being displayed. I also love the idea of people creating their own worlds out of my drawings. I’d really love to see what you have to say, take a photo/screenshot of a section and write up your own story about it, post it to your social media and tag me so I can read it. :)